Warm Pineapple With Coconut Sorbet

While I was searching for cleaning tips on Real Simple, I stumbled upon the recipe section and found this little gem. Caramelized Pineapple With Coconut Sorbet. It was too good NOT to make. I mentioned the dessert to a few people and they were all excited to hear about how it would turn out. I modified the recipe a little bit. I added a tablespoon of water because I felt that it made the sauce smoother.

A friend suggested adding something crunchy on top. You could always toast some coconut flakers or some crushed flaked almonds. Also, if you are not sure where to find coconut sorbet, try your local Whole Foods Market if you have one. They usually carry an array of sorbets and I can always find unique ones there. Otherwise, there are plenty of coconut sorbet recipes on the internet.

Ingredients:

Half of a Pineapple sliced into half moons
2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of water
coconut sorbet

Makes 4 servings.

Just a few tips for the pineapple: if you don't have fresh pineapple, use 4 canned pineapple rings and cut them in half. If you do have fresh pineapple, make sure you cut out a bit of the core because that part is mostly inedible.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add the brown sugar and water and stir. Heat a bit until the mixture is combined and add the pineapple slices. Cook the pineapple until it begins to soften and shut off the heat.

Take four small bowls and add a large scoop of coconut sorbet into each. Add a couple of slices of cooked pineapple and drizzle some sauce over the top. Serve immediately. Devour immediately.

This came out so well that I squealed with delight at the very first bite. Enjoy!

Peruvian Minestrone

This is another gem from the cookbook Daisy Cooks! by Daisy Martinez. She calls this recipe the true jewel of Peru (step aside Machu Picchu!). I modified her recipe and kind of threw it together, hoping it would come out well but not having too high expectations. I was pleasantly surprised. It's a hearty stew, full of good things and I enjoyed it even on a warm spring day.

Ingredients:

3 slices of bacon

1 leek halved and sliced into half-moons
4 carrots peeled and sliced
4 celery hearts chopped
1/2 onion chopped
5-6 yukon gold potatoes peeled and chopped

rind of a block of parmesan cheese

5 cups of beef broth

4 ears of frozen corn thawed and cut into 4 chunks each
4 small links or one large link of chorizo sliced

salt and pepper to taste
parsley for garnish

This recipe makes 4 servings

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In a large soup pot, add 3 slices of bacon, cover and cook bacon over medium heat. Flip the bacon occasionally, but keep the lid on the pot. When the bacon is nice and crispy, remove from the bacon and keep the grease and burnt bits in the pot.

Eat the bacon. Sure you could keep the bacon, break it up and sprinkle it on top of the soup. But you know you want to eat it. Immediately! It's okay. I won't tell anybody.

Turn the heat back up to medium and add your leeks, carrots, celery, onions and potatoes. Cook for a few minutes then slowly add your 5 cups of beef broth and your parmesan rind. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bring the pot to a boil and cook for 25-30 minutes.

Remove the parmesan rind and slide in your chorizo and cut up ears of corn. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until corn is done.

If you want, you can brown the chorizo in a pan separately and then add the chorizo to the pot a minute or so before you serve. If you have really good quality chorizo (the tough kind that's been smoked), you'll want to give it more time in the pot to soften a bit.

Serve hot or at room temperature. It reheats really well too so it makes great leftovers.

Lettuce-Less Fattoush with Grilled Chicken

Emphasis on "Lettuce-Less".

I have a love-hate relationship with lettuce (with the exception of mesclun mix) and right now it's just pure hate. Lately, when I've had salads, I feel like the lettuce just serves as a filler. It's been annoying me to the point that I just want to yell at the lettuce and say "Get out of the way! I want to get to the good stuff."

In my attempt to make more international dishes, I thought I'd try making a Fattoush. Fattoush (or Fatouche) is a Lebanese salad that consists of various fresh vegetables, fresh herbs, toasted pita bread and a light dressing with sumac. I always mean to order it when I go to my local Lebanese restaurant but cave in to the temptation of the other menu items. With the glorious Spring weather we've been having, I decided it was time to make a salad!

You can go ahead and add lettuce to this recipe. Just know that I'll be secretly judging you for it.

Ingredients:

2 pickle cucumbers halved and cut into half moons
2 plum tomatoes cut into strips
1 green pepper cut into strips
1/2 small onion thinly sliced
1 bunch of radishes sliced
chopped parsley
chopped mint
1/2 lemon
extra light olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

6 chicken cutlets/4 chicken breasts
1/2 lemon
extra light olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

3 whole-wheat pitas
cooking spray

* if you have sumac, add a bit to the dressing

This makes 2 servings.
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Season your chicken cutlets (3 per person) or chicken breasts (2 per person) with salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon juice and drizzle olive oil over the chicken and mix until coated. On a hot grill pan, grill the chicken. Let cool and cut into strips. Set aside.

Stack your 3 whole wheat pitas and chop them into 2-inch pieces. Set aside.

Prep your vegetables and herbs and mix them in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. When it's time to serve the salad, squeeze the juice of half a lemon and drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of your olive oil and mix the salad until the vegetables are fully coated in the dressing.

Preheat your oven's broiler. Spray cooking spray onto a non-stick baking sheet. Spread your pieces of pita over the sheet and spray those pieces with cooking spray. That way you have the pieces lightly coated in oil on both sides. Add to your oven and broil for 3-4 minutes (or less depending on your oven's broiler). Flip the pieces over and broil again for 3-4 more minutes. The pita chips should be nice and crispy.

Add your salad to a plate and cover with pita chips and chicken. Garnish with a few sprigs of parsley. 

I highly recommend toasting whole-wheat pita chips (the ones I used had flax seed) as a healthy alternative to croutons!

Lettuce-Less Fattoush Salad With Grilled Chicken

How to Chop an Onion

Several people I know have asked my opinion about chopping onions. The first inquiry I get is always how to chop an onion without crying. The only way I know to prevent the iritation of the eyes is to wear contacts. When you cut into an onion, it releases an enzyme that reacts with the water in your eyes. The enzyme and the water react and create an acid which iritates the pupil. It doesn't iritate the white of your eye and because the pupils are completely covered by the contacts, you can cut an onion without any problems. But not everyone wears contacts.

So the only other way I can think of to prevent eye iritation while chopping an onion is to do it as quickly as possible and with a sharp knife. Onions are a bit cumbersome with the papery out layers, the layers of flesh within, the root and the roundness of the vegetable (round things like to roll!). It can take a while to chop an onion which will make you take several visits to the freezer to cool off your eyes. So I'm here to teach you how to chop an onion quickly and efficiently. You may still cry, but it will be over with quickly since you'll be an onion-chopping master.

Place your onion on your chopping board. Make sure you use a good knife.

Chop your onion in half from the top to the bottom.

Lay each half on your cutting board, cut-side down. Cut off the top bit of the onion like in the picture above. Make sure you cut off the top part and not the root. It's important for the root to stay on.

Remove the papery skin of the onion. Leave the root on! Cut into each half twice creating 3 large slices. If your onion is small, cut into each half once to create 2 large slices. Do not cut all the way through. Leave the root on!

Take your knife and cut slits in the other direction. Do not cut all the way through the root. The onion half should stay together. Leave the root on!

Now run your knife across the onion half in the other direction until you get to the root. Throw out the root.

Voila! Chopped onions without tears (or at least with very few).

*You can dice or mince by creating more slices lengthwise and more slits in the other direction. Or you could take the chopped pieces and run your knife over them holding the tip of the knife on the chopping board and lifting the knife up and down, chopping as you go.

Onion

Sloppy Joes

Do sloppy joes need an introduction? What is there to say about them? They are wonderful hearty, messy sandwiches of deliciousness. You can get the canned stuff but it so much better when you make it yourself. And it's very easy. Just try it and see for yourself.

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 cubannelle pepper chopped
1/4 red bell pepper chopped
2-3 garlic cloves minced
1 15 oz. can of Tomato Sauce
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce

Chili powder, salt and pepper to taste

Makes 4 servings

Chop chop chop away. Chop your onions and peppers and mince those garlic cloves.

Sautee your vegetables in some oil for 2 minutes or so, until the structure of the vegetables starts to give.

Season your meat with salt, pepper and chili powder. Add seasoned meat to your skillet and brown. For Pete's sake, please use a bigger skillet than the one I show in the picture above!

Once the meat is nice and browned (not burnt or dry), add the tomato sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and red wine vinegar to the skillet. Cook at low heat, partially covered for about 20 minutes or until the sauce gets thick. If you are impatient like me, turn up the heat, leave uncovered and stir, stir, stir for about 10 minutes. Just be prepared to clean up the random bits of tomato sauce you'll find everywhere.

Serve the sloppy joe mixture hot. Spoon onto some nice toasted Portuguese rolls. It's such a hearty sandwich that I like to pair it with a light salad. In this case, I made a salad of sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and radishes. Bon apetit!

Hey it's me!




Sloppy Joes

Caldo Verde ~ Portuguese Kale Soup

Caldo Verde translated literally into Portuguese means "Green Pot". My father hails from mainland Portugal. Growing up, I took several trips out there and it was pretty common for my family and I to consume numerous bowls of Caldo Verde. The most common type involves a broth-based potato soup, blended until smooth and to which strips of kale and a few pieces of chorizo are added. A lot of people like the clean cut look of collard strips and use them instead of kale. I consider those people heathens! You can't make kale soup without kale. I spit on your collard soup. ::spit::. I have never made this soup with carrots and I tried adding  it to my basic recipe. There are a lot of variations of this soup. You can easily make it with just potatoes, kale and water (with salt and pepper). However, the addition of onions, garlic and carrots makes it truly wonderful. Next time I'll try adding kidney beans.

I really hope you'll take the opportunity to make this very special soup. It's a staple of Portuguese cuisine and makes for a hearty winter soup.

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Ingredients:

1/2 large onion chopped

- or small onion chopped

3 carrots peeled and sliced

3 garlic cloves smashed

4 large yellow potatoes chopped

2 chorizo links with casings removed, halved and chopped

4 cups of chicken stock and 2 cups of water

1 bunch of kale julienned

- or 6 cups of water and 2 packets of Chicken Boullion

crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Chop your onions, slice your carrots and smash your garlic. Set aside.

Go on. Peel with your bad self! Peel and chop the potatoes. Set aside in a bowl of cold water.

Remove the casing from your chorizo. This is an important step. Chorizo casing is tough and unforgiving and will make the sausage link curl during the cooking process. Just remove it and don't worry about appearance. Cut the links length-wise then chop into half-moons. Sautee in a separate pan until the are nice and browned. Don't put into the pot until the last minute, otherwise the color of the chorizo will leach into the soup turning it a weird red color.

Now it's time to prepare the kale. With each individual leaf, cut out the stem. You can do this several ways. Cut a triangle out of the leaf, or fold over the leaf and cut out the stem that way. Or rip off the halves of the leaves off the stem. I like a little bit of stem to give some crunch and texture.

Tightly roll the leaf into a bundle.

Run your knife over it to julienne the leaf into thin strips.

Don't worry if it's not perfect.

In a big pot, sautee your onions, carrots and garlic in a bit of olive oil.

Once the vegetables start to soften, add the potatoes and some crushed red pepper flakes. Stir the pot and cook the potatoes until they just begin to soften around the edges.

Then add the 6 cups of water and 2 bouillion packets (or 4 cups of broth and 2 cups of water) to the pot. Bring to a boil then let simmer until the potatoes are cooked.

With a wooden spoon, mash the potatoes against the side of the pot. Do this until almost all the chunks of potatoes are mashed. Leave some chunks behind. This will give your soup a good texture.

Now it's time to add the Kale. It will seem like you have too much kale for your pot. But not to worry because the kale wilts down pretty quickly.

Cook for 5 minutes at a simmer then stir in chorizo sausage. Serve hot or at room temperature (the latter is my favorite). Eat with a nice crusty loaf of Portuguese bread. Enjoy!

Raquelle's Kitchen-Sink Soup

I forgot to buy stew meat. And from the repercussions of that error, a new soup recipe as born. I bring you: Raquelle's Kitchen-Sink Soup. I was planning on making Betty Crocker's Slow Cooker Beef-Tortellini Stew for my I Haz Crockpot series but without the meat it was sort of a FAIL. I still had loads of produce and the tortellini so I decided to be scrappy and create my own soup.

A few things about this recipe. It's in fact two recipes. I wanted to make the soup for two special men in my life. First there is Carlos, my beau. Then there is Kevin, one of my best and closest friends. Carlos is a meat-eater and Kevin is a vegetarian, so I decided to simultaneously make two soups that suited each men. In both, I crammed as many vegetables as I possibly could because my boys need to stay healthy.

Ingredients

Vegetarian Version
serves 1
1/3 of the Vegetable mixture*
2 cloves of garlic
2 cans of vegetable broth
1/3 large packet of tortellini
Dried oregano, salt & pepper to taste
1/3 of a can of white navy beans

Meat Version
serves 2-3

2 linguica sausagues sliced
2/3 of the Vegetable mixture*
3 cloves of garlic
4 cups of chicken broth
2/3 large packet of tortellini
Dried oregano, salt & pepper to taste
2/3s of a can of white navy beans.

*Vegetable Mixture
4 carrots peeled and sliced
4 celery hearts chopped, leaves and all
1/2 red-bell pepper chopped
1/2 cubanelle pepper chopped
1/2 onion chopped
handfuls of green and wax beans, trimmed & halved

Since I was doing two soups simultaneously, I chopped all the vegetables, put them into a big bowl and mixed them by hand. This way I could separate 1/3 and 2/3s of the mixture to make sure I had an equal amount of each vegetable in either soup.

In a skillet I cooked the linguica over medium-high heat, with a little drizzle of olive oil. Just to heat through the sausage and to give it some nice color. Set aside.

I sauteed the vegetables in some olive oil in two respective pots. Cook until the vegetable's structure begins to give and they start getting soft.

Add salt, pepper, oregano, beans, garlic and the broths. I was careful to keep the meat and vegetarian versions separate. Bring pots to a boil.

Add your tortellini and cook until the pasta is done. I used fresh tortellini so this only took 5-6 minutes. Once the pasta is done, the soup is done!

Because I was bringing Kevin his soup separately, I didn't cook the tortellini in the vegetable soup. Instead, I put it in it's own container. The problem with pasta in soup is that the pasta keeps absorbing the liquid even after the cooking process is over. So I decided to give him the pasta separately so he can add it to the soup.

I put the vegetarian soup in it's own container. Kevin can add this to a pot, add some additional water and seasoning and heat it up with the tortellini.

For the meat version, I served up the soup by placing some slices of cooked linguica to the bottom of the bowl.

Then I ladled all the good soup on top. It was absolutely delicious and a perfect treat for a November day (albeit a rather warm November day). Enjoy!